Welcome to Week 8.
The Stampeders are undefeated (6-0) and going about the now-regular Calgary business of destroying anybody in their path. The Argonauts are flailing for a dinghy in a storm of quarterback trouble and mounting losses. Oh, and some rookie kicker on the REDBLACKS is 20-for-21 on field goals to begin his career.
In #TotalPickEm, players are competing for a $5,000 end-of-season cash prize. In addition, the best predictor each week wins two tickets to any 2018 regular-season CFL game of their choice.
So, whether you’ve been invested in this from day one, or you’re just creating your profile and locking in your first picks of the season: You have something to play for.
Thursday | Ottawa at Toronto (7:00 p.m. ET)
The Argos are in free fall at 1-5, while the REDBLACKS are cruising atop the East Division at 4-2.
Ottawa is yet to lose to a team not named the Calgary Stampeders; Toronto is yet to score more than 20 points in a game this season (avg: 15.8).
The easy pick here is the REDBLACKS; while the offence is inconsistent, Noel Thorpe’s Ottawa defence is easily the second best in the CFL — nowhere near Calgary’s historically-good unit, but significantly better than everybody else.
Also: McLeod Bethel-Thompson is starting for Toronto. It will be his first start in any league since 2011.
PICK: Ottawa
Thursday | Saskatchewan at Edmonton (10:00 p.m. ET)
The Riders and Eskimos will meet on the back end of a rare Thursday Night Football doubleheader this week.
The West Division is going to be a dogfight this season, and with two points separating the Esks (4-2) and Riders (3-3), Thursday’s game will be a critical one.
Saskatchewan’s offence has been genuinely incapable of putting points on the board, but Chris Jones’s defence has been solid enough to keep the Riders in game.
This one will come down to whether Mike Reilly and the Esks can solve the visiting defence: If they score three touchdowns, they’ll win the ballgame.
PICK: Edmonton
Friday | Hamilton at Montreal (7:30 p.m. ET)
In what will likely be a Johnny Manziel versus Jeremiah Masoli — a not-so-classic understudy vs. master matchup — showdown, the Ticats (2-4) will visit the Alouettes (1-5) on Friday Night Football.
Beyond the added media hype and eyeballs from south of the border, there’s also the fact the winner of Friday’s game will be in home-field playoff position. Such is life in the East.
It’s tough to pick a winner: Hamilton is stumbling on a three-game losing streak, while Montreal has looked subpar but may be revitalized by Johnny Football.
Chalk this one up as a virtual toss-up, and a statement game for the Ticats: If June Jones’s team is for real, they can’t afford to drop a fourth-straight contest against what many consider the worst team in the CFL.
PICK: Hamilton
Saturday | BC at Calgary (9:00 p.m. ET)
BC is facing a virtual must-win in Calgary this week; at 2-3, Wally Buono’s Lions are in danger of sliding out of the West Division playoff picture, while the Stamps are 6-0 and rolling.
The Lions have shown a bit more offensive punch since Travis Lulay returned in Week 5, but — and there is a but — those starts came against Winnipeg and Ottawa, not the Stampeders and their ridiculously tight defence.
Every Calgary win has been by at least 10 points, and that trend is unlikely to change on home turf against a BC team that has struggled to find consistency on either side of the ball.
PICK: Calgary
Season: 18-9 (.667)
Week 7: 3-1
